THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) will start on Sept 1 with the Premier Division limited to six teams as the parent body looks for quality matches.

The MHL, which will use the home-and-away format, will run for only 40 days with the final slated for Oct 10. The the semi-finals will be a two-leg affair.

These were some of the decisions taken by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHF) technical committee.

"It will be a short league as we have to accommodate the Razak Cup, Sultan of Johor Cup and the Champions Challenge I," said MHC secretary Johari Aziz.

The Razak Cup will be held on Oct 14-23 -- either in Kuantan or Kuala Lumpur, followed by the Sultan of Johor Cup on Nov 8-18 and then the Champions Challenge I in Argentina on Nov 24-Dec 2.

"National players, seniors and juniors will be released to play for their respective states in the Razak Cup after which they will regroup for the Sultan of Johor Cup and the CC I," said Johari.

The MHL will see a major change this year with the TNB Cup only for Premier Division teams.

Also, there will be no promotion for the Division One sides to play in the knockout overall stage.

"This is because many teams, like Armed Forces and UiTM do not want to play in the Premier Division after they received drubbings last season. So, the TNB Cup will only be for Premier Division sides while another trophy will be made available for the Division One Overall title," said Johari.

Division One is expected to attract more than 10 entries and will be held on a league basis.

Meanwhile, Yayasan Negri Sembilan will not be involved in the MHL this season as Negri officials want to use the RM500,000 to develop their grassroots leagues rather than spend it in the Premier Division.

BUKIT JALIL: It was business as usual for KL Hockey Club (KLHC) as they wrapped up their 2011 Malaysia Hockey League campaign by winning the league title, the charity shield and the TNB Cup. At the National Hockey Stadium at Bukit Jalil yesterday, KLHC was made to work hard for the TNB Cup against Tenaga Nasional Bhd as they came back from two goals down to end the match 3-2.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) made history when they came back from two goals down to beat Tenaga Nasional 3-2 in the final at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil here yesterday.